Historically, all or part of the present county were parts of the following counties[2]: If your ancestor lived in what is now McHenry County prior to the county formation in 1836, you may find records mentioning your ancestor in one of these counties.

Description

The county was named for Major William McHenry, an Indian fighter who died in Vandalia in 1835. The county seat is Woodstock and the county was organized on January 16th, 1836.[3] The County is located in the West Northern area of the state.[4]

[1877, index] Johnson, Martin W. Index to the short biographies in the 1877 Biographical Directory of the tax-payers and voters of McHenry County. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1989. FHL Film 1421993 Item 12

Federal CensusFederal population schedules 1830-1930 for McHenry County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see Illinois Census. See McHenry County, IL census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project. Locally abstracted census indexes are often more accurate than national indexes. Abstracted indexes for federal census records in McHenry County are as follows:

1850–1880 agricultural, industry and manufacturing schedules were kept for McHenry County in addtion to the population schedules. See Illinois Census for more information. Selected copies are available at Ancestry ($). See McHenry Deaths for information about the mortality schedule.

State Census

A census for the state of Illinois was taken in McHenry County in 1855 and 1865. For information about Illinois state census records, see Illinois Census. Available on Ancestry ($).

Church Records

Church records may give birth, death and marriage information. The following copies or indexes are available:

Ethnic Research

African American

This database includes approximately 3,400 names found in governmental records involving the servitude and emancipation of Africans and, occasionally, Indians in the French and English eras of colonial Illinois (1722–1790) and African-Americans in the American period of Illinois (1790–1863). The Archives extracted the names of servants, slaves, or free persons and masters, witnesses, or related parties from selected governmental records to produce this database. Courtesy of the Illinois State Archives.

[Owen] Owen, Charles Starr. Genealogy of the Descendants of Daniel Owen, Jr. of McHenry, Illinois: With Especially Attention Given to the Descendants of his son, Edwin Mortimer Owen, and the Allied Families of Norton, Warner, Stanton and Patterson.FHL Film 1036548 Item 9, FHL Book 929.273 Ow2a

[Pre-1885] History of McHenry County, Illinois : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens : also a condensed History of Illinois, embodying accounts of pre-historic races, aborigines, Winnebago and Black Hawk wars, and a brief review of its civil and political history. Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co., 1885, 991 pgs. Heritage QuestOther libraries (WorldCat)FHL film 825587 Online index courtesy of Illinois Trails.

[1943-1996] McHenry County Yearbooks IRAD-NIU . Search for McHenry records. Information about how to use IRAD. These books include information about population, county and township offices, post offices, schools and political offices for any given year.

Enclyclopedia of Chicago website gives short histories of most McHenry County villages. Type the name of the village in the search box.

Land records are extraordinarily accessible in McHenry County. The County Recorder's web site includes a free web search. The index to deeds, mortgages, affidavits, liens, and more can be searched by name and/or document type and/or date. The system can return a maximum of 200 hits, and begins with the most recent transactions first. Because the index contains thousands of entries, searchers may need to include a date range as well as surname, to ensure that the oldest records are included in the results.

Records from the original leather-bound first volume of the McHenry County Commissioners’ Court Minutes from 1837 - 1848 are available in PDF format online at the County Recorder's site, as well. This Board established precincts (townships would come later), set the rate for taxable property, and began the process of laying out roads and determining the location for the county seat. Because Lake County wasn't divided off until March of 1839, early Lake County information is included.

Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Each purchase entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, numeric code indicating the county in which the land is located, legal description (township, section, range), volume and page numbers of original entry, and variously, the sale type, and the purchaser's sex and residence. Courtesy of the Illinois State Archives.

Maps

Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of McHenry County, Illinois. Norman, Oklahoma: Arphax Pub. Co.,2008. Plats the land of many nineteenth-century McHenry County residents. The publisher's bookstore includes a free online surname index. Other libraries (WorldCat)FHL Book 977.322 E7b

Military Records

Multiple Wars

Veterans Databases Courtesy of the Illinois State Archives. Includes War of 1812, Indian Wars, Mexican War and various other databases.

Civil War

Civil War service men from McHenry County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies or regiments that were formed from men of McHenry County.

Newspapers and Obituaries

McHenry County obituary index spans 1884–2009. This index is provided by the McHenry County Historical Society and Museum. The organization's website states that not all people buried in McHenry County are included in the index. Copies of obituaries may not name the newspaper where the obituary was originally printed.

[2005–present] The Algonquin Area Newspapers Index includes obituaries appearing in the Northwest Herald and Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Countryside from January 1, 2005 - Present. Selected obituaries mentioning Algonquin or Lake in the Hills from the Daily Herald and Elgin Courier News are also included.

[1880–1979] Marriages, 1880-1979 These indexes represent a list of couples whose notice of marriage license issued, or marriage performed or wedding conducted, or news items for anniversaries celebrated, appeared in the weekly Crystal Lake Herald newspaper. Information was not necessarily limited to residents of Crystal Lake and/or Nunda Township. Researchers should look for variant spellings within each index.

The Index, broken down by 10 year intervals, gives: Bride’s name, Groom’s name, and Issue date and page.

[1880–1945] Index to Deaths Appearing in the Nunda (Crystal Lake) Herald. The McHenry County Genealogical Society has created an index to the names of deceased individuals whose notice of death appeared in the weekly Crystal Lake Herald newspaper. Information was gleaned from obituaries, death notices, police reports, and newspaper articles and is not necessarily limited to residents of Crystal Lake and/or Nunda Township. It was not unusual for a death notice to appear months and even years after the event, particularly in the case of war dead. Researchers should scan several indexes when searching for the name of a specific individual and look for variant spellings within each index.

Probate Records

See Illinois Probate Records for more information. Probate records may give death and family relationship information. Probate records include wills, inventories, settlements, and guardianship records.

Original McHenry County probate records are available at the McHenry County Courthouse by the circuit court clerk. See Illinois Probate Records wiki page for more information about using probate records. The following copies of probate records are available:

Repositories

County Courthouse

County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for McHenry County are kept, see the McHenry County Courthouse page.

Family History Centers

Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah (United States) and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources to assist you in the research and study of your genealogy.

The FHC center in McHenry County is located in Crystal Lake. Be sure to call and visit its wiki page for hours of service and other information.

You may search your address for a center near you on the FamilySearch site, if you live outside the area.

Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD)

The Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD), managed by the Illinois State Archives, houses the archival records of local Illinois counties, townships, municipalities and school districts. The seven Regional Depositories are housed on state university campuses scattered throughout Illinois.

The Crystal Lake Historical Society is located in the Colonel Palmer House at the intersection of Illinois Route 176 and Terra Cotta Road in Crystal Lake. Their Research/Archives Room resources include newspapers from 1875, published county and local histories, atlases, maps and family files. On-line resources include the Index to Death Notices/Obituaries in the Nunda/Crystal Lake Herald, which provides details of name, age, date of death and date of burial for more than 33,000 people, dating back to 1875.

Taxation

[1877, index] Johnson, Martin W. Index to the short biographies in the 1877 Biographical Directory of the tax-payers and voters of McHenry County. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1989. FHL Film 1421993 Item 12

This book includes listings of men registered to vote or who paid taxes in 1877. Some listings include brief biographies giving his occupation, the date and place of birth for both the man and his wife, their marriage date, and the number of children.

Vital Records

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded since 1877 are kept by the McHenry County Clerk while those recorded after 1916 are kept by the Illinois Department of Public Health. with a copy to the County Clerk. Original marriage records are kept by the County Clerk from 1837 to the present. Original divorce records are generally in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk.

Delayed birth records include submissions by individuals who were born before the state officially collected birth records, but who are in need of a birth record for identification.These may include affidavits by family members or Bible records.

1880-1979Crystal Lake Herald Marriage Index These indexes represent a list of couples whose notice of marriage license issued, or marriage performed or wedding conducted, or news items for anniversaries celebrated, appeared in the weekly Crystal Lake Herald newspaper. Information was not necessarily limited to residents of Crystal Lake and/or Nunda Township. Researchers should look for variant spellings within each index.

Deaths

1877–present - The McHenry County death records 1877-present are housed at the County Clerk's office. Original records are to 1916; copies are after 1916. The following copies and indexes are available:

Voter Registration

1877, index Johnson, Martin W. Index to the short biographies in the 1877 Biographical Directory of the tax-payers and voters of McHenry County. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1989. FHL Film 1421993 Item 12

This book includes listings of men registered to vote or who paid taxes in 1877. Some listings include brief biographies giving his occupation, the date and place of birth for both the man and his wife, their marriage date, and the number of children.